More than 80 ducks were eaten for lunch! Why is the roast duck in the Olympic Village so popular?

Expert of this article: Pa Lize, chief physician of nutrition, science popularization committee member of Chinese Nutrition Society

What became popular during the Beijing Winter Olympics?

Then it must be mentioned that

Chinese cuisine

According to reports

Chinese dumplings and roast duck are particularly popular in the Winter Olympic Village

At the peak, more than 100 kilograms of dumplings were eaten a day.

More than 80 roast ducks were consumed for lunch

Many Olympic athletes

Also because of the love of food on the hot search

At the press conference after winning the championship

Gu Ailing was asked what she wanted to eat the most

She talked enthusiastically about Peking duck

He also taught reporters various "artistic" cutting methods

Irresistible food

But you know what?

Food at the Winter Olympics

It's not that simple

Stricter standards for athletes

Let’s take a look together below!

Why is roast duck so popular?

Ducks (scientific name Anas domestica) were domesticated in China 2,000 years ago. The Beijing duck has become a precious breed throughout the world because of its broad body, plump muscles, slow movements, fast early growth, and easy fattening (hence it is also called "stuffed duck"). Its meat is tender and delicious.

Authentic Beijing roast duck has to go through more than ten processes from slaughtering the duck to putting it into the oven (scalding, picking the hair, inflating, gutting, washing the chest, hanging, scalding the skin, beating sugar, drying the skin, and pouring water). After being fully roasted at 270 degrees for 80 minutes, the roast duck has a shiny appearance, bright red color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and a mellow taste. It can be said to be a Chinese delicacy that has been flavored over time and settled over the years, and no one can defend against it.

Faced with such delicious food, it is naturally difficult for athletes to resist, and the popularity of roast duck in the Winter Olympic Village has naturally emerged.

What kind of roast duck can athletes eat?

Duck meat is rich in high-quality protein and various nutrients such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, minerals, and is easy to digest and absorb. For athletes who need to supplement a lot of high-quality protein every day, duck meat can be used as a good food source of high-quality protein, and athletes can eat it often.

However, while athletes should ensure a scientific and nutritious diet, they should also guard against accidentally ingesting food-borne stimulants.

A rough analysis shows that there are risks associated with at least three links in ordinary roast duck, which may be mixed with stimulant elements, namely duck feed, materials used in duck embryo pre-treatment and roasting processes to remove fishy smell, enhance flavor and enhance color, as well as the dipping sauce that is necessary when the finished product is consumed.

The roast duck served to athletes meets the highest international standards for Olympic food. From the selection of the raw duck to all the natural spices used in the roasting process, including the necessary dipping sauces and flatbreads, all are strictly tested in accordance with the standards and more than 100 indicators are tested to prevent the roast duck from affecting the results of doping tests.

Athletes cannot eat beef, mutton, pork, and pepper?

In recent years, the world, including China, has banned feeding pigs, cattle and sheep with "lean meat powder (scientific name: Clenbuterol)", and my country's supervision of food safety has become increasingly strict. However, in the doping test results of athletes in the past two years, some athletes still tested positive for Clenbuterol, indicating that some athletes still ate pork, beef, mutton or offal of unknown origin, increasing the risk of positive doping tests.

Therefore, in order to prevent the accidental ingestion of food-borne stimulants, domestic experts and scholars in sports biochemistry and anti-doping research have also put forward the requirement that "athletes who are on the way to team training or returning home to visit relatives during holidays should not eat meat products such as pork, beef, mutton, and animal offal."

In addition, the news #678 dishes at the Beijing Winter Olympics cannot contain pepper# also attracted the attention of netizens.

It is important to know that the spiciness and aroma of pepper come from the presence of piperine in the thin layer of pepper peel (black pepper) and the surface of pepper seeds (white pepper). The ingredient contained in piperine, higenamine, belongs to the category of β2 agonists, which can improve aerobic capacity (i.e. improve athletes' endurance and physical strength), while also having the health risks of dilating the airways and increasing heart rate. Therefore, higenamine appears on the "Prohibited List" of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), which stipulates that it is a "substance that must be banned both in and out of competition", so pepper is prohibited from appearing in the Olympic menu.

What other foods should athletes not eat?

Unfortunately, higenamine is not only found in pepper, but also in pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, and finished seasoning thirteen spices. While athletes avoid consuming these natural spices that pose a risk of food-borne stimulants, they should also avoid eating some fruit foods, such as sugar apples (custard apples) and foods with lotus seeds.

In addition to food, some Chinese patent medicines, Western anti-cold medicines and other medicines and nutritional supplements also contain other banned ingredients besides stimulants. The specific names can be found in the banned drug list published annually by the World Anti-Doping Agency (a must-learn part for athletes).

It is reported that

Winter Olympics halfway through

Several records have been broken

Winter Olympics set a new record in viewership

The second half of the Beijing Winter Olympics has begun

I hope the Winter Olympic athletes will continue to eat and drink well.

Achieve good results

Let’s cheer for them together!

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